Windshield cleaner



Nov. 24, 1925- 2,898

' B. E. LlTOT WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed April 1, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

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f g Y a a4 Nov. 24, 1925 B. E. LlTO T WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed April 1. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WIT/VESISES l6 FIGJ-Ia.

&3 I 36 37 a4 32 3 i in Patented Nov. 24, 1925.

PATENT orr ce.

BERNARD E. LITOT, OEWILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

WINDSHIELD CLEANER.

Application filed April 1, 1925. Serial No. 19,835.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD E. Lrro'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of VJilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in lVindshield Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wind shield cleaners, and particularly to a motor driven cleanerwhich is self-contained and may be easily and quickly applied as a unit to the wind shield, either during the initial equipment of new machines or subsequently upon machines already in use.

It is an objectto provide a wind shield cleaner, which is neat in appearance, simple, compact, and sturdy in construction, which will not easily get out of order, in which substantially the entire gearing interposed between the driving motor and the wiping or cleaning element proper is con-- veniently housed and protected, and which can be fabricated at a comparatively low cost.

It is a special object to provide a cleaner of the character referred to equipped with wiper-carrying armswhich will automatic'ally position the wiping or cleaning element to secure a uniform effect upon the surfzice of the wind shield being cleaned tln-oughout the entire extent of the cleaning element, as well as with convenient and ellicient means permitting the cleaning mechanism proper to bemanually actuated independently of the motor and its driving gearing, whenever this is necessary or de sirable.

Another special object is the provision of means for selectively connecting and disconnecting the oscillating shafts for moving the cleaning elements from the driving gear in a manner which will not disturb the normal setting of the cleaning elements or the zone in which they normally work, as well as assuring the normal parallel disposition of both cleaning elements in constructions equipped with a pair of such elements.

These and other objects of the invention will more fully appear when taken in conjunction with the following description and the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming .manually operating it. I

designates the casing a part of the application, Fig. 1 is a rear elevation showing the method of mounting the invention upon the upper frame member of the wind shield; Fig. 2 a horizontal transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line IIII of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line III- ill of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a transverse sectional view taken substantial 1y on the line IVIV of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 a fragmentary detail view, on an enlarged scale, partly in elevation and partly in section, illustrating the mounting of the several parts forming the means for manually disconnecting the oscillating shaft from the gearing of the driving motor; and Fig. l 6 a fragmentary view taken substantially on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5, showing the non-circular form ofthe oscillating shaft and the manner of attaching the handle for In the drawings, 1 for housing the driving gearing, and in which the several shafts are journalled, the casing being provided with a cover plate 2 which may be secured in place in any suitable manner as by the locking screws 3. Rigidly attached to and carried by the cover plate 2 is a suitable driving motor 4, preferably an electric motor as illustrated in the drawings.

The armature shaft *5 of the motor projects' through the cover plate and has fixed thereto a pinion'fi which meshes with a gear wheel 7 fixed to a shaft.8 having its opposite ends suitably journalled in the hottom of the casing and in the cover plate,

formed stub shaft anchored in the cover plate 2, all as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Pivotally attached to the gear 10 as at 11, is one end of a connecting rod 12, the opposite end of which is .pivotally connected'as at 13 to a segmental gear 14 rotatably journalled upon a suitably formed shaft 15, having its opposite ends 16 and 17 journalled in the cover plate 2 and the bottom of the. casing, respectively.

The segmental gear 14: meshes with a pinion 18 loosely journaled upon the oscillating shaft 19 which is also journalled at space-d apart points Within the casing and its cover plate.

In a similar fashion the gear 10' is operatively connected through the connectin rod 12' and the segmental gear 14' to the pinion 18 loosely mounted uponthe oscillating shaft 19 which is journalled in the casing and its cover plate in av fashion analogous to that previously described'in connection with the oscillating shaft 19, the oscillatin shafts 19 and 19' being spaced apart prefera ly adjacent the top of the casing, in'the manner clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.

The opposite ends of both of the oscillating shafts 19 and 19 project a considerable distance beyond the casing, and at their forward or front end have anchored thereto arms for carrying the wiping or cleaning element. I

The cleaning mechanism proper comprises a rigid arm 20 which is fixed upon the forwardly projecting extremity of the oscillating shaft and held in the desired position by .nuts such as indicated at 21, 21, the arm being locked against rotative turning movement by making the extremity of the shaft non-circular in cross section, and the shaft receiving opening in the arm 20 of corresponding shape. Hinged to the extremity of the arm 20 1s a second substantially rigid arm 22 the extremity of which is provided with a pair of spaced ears 23 between which 'ner clearly shown 1n Fig. 4.

is pivoted as at '24 a holding strip 25 U- sha ed in cross section and between the lim s of which is inserted the squeegee or cleaning element 26 which may consist of a strip of rubber or other suitable fabric adapted to effectively-clean the surface of the wind shield when pressed into intimate contact with its surface. The arm 20 has anchored thereto one end of a resilient leaf spring 27 the. free end of which is adapted to press against the arm 22 so as to constantly urge it -in a direction towards the glass panel 28 of the wind shield, in a man- The pinions 18 and 18 have integrally formed therewith hub extensions which are adapted to abut the inner faceof the cover plate 2, and interposed between the pinion and the bottom of the casing is a spacing collar anchored to the oscillating shaft, so as to hold the several parts in the desired relation, andto lprovide means for prevent ing longitudina movement of the shafts within the casing. The spacing collar associated with the shaft 19 is shown at locked to the shaft by means of the set screw 30, while the s acing collar used in connection with the -s aft 19' is designated at 29'. The bores of the pinions and their integrally formed hub extensions are provided with a k way or slot as indicated at 31.

ach of the oscillating shafts has asso- 29 being ciated therewith means for disconnecting the drlving gearlng from 1ts pinion 18.01:

18, for the purpose of permitting the shaft to be manually operated independently of j the motor.

Since the constructions used with the two shafts are identical, itwill benecessary to describe but one of them in detail, and for simplicity, the corresponding parts will be deslgnatedv by the same reference numerals.

The body of the shaft, at its extremity projecting rearwardly of the casing, is provided with a longitudinal bore 32 which extends axially from its end face to a point in. the longitudinal bore 32 is a specially fashloned. stem 34., of slightly smaller diameter than the bore. provided at its inner end with a flattened terminal 35 which is bent radially outwards in the manner indicated in Fig. 5, the terminal of the stem forming a key adapted to project within and operatively engage the slot or keyway 31, of the pinion.

An elongated opening 36 establishes communication from the exterior of the shaft with the bore 32, the opening being positioned so as to extend throughout the region below the pinion and its'hub to a point intermediate the pinion andthe rearward end of the shaft. A finger 37, formed either in tegrally with or attached to'the stem 34 pro iects outwardly through the opening 36, and serves as a spring seat or abutment for one end of a coiled compression spring 38, the opposite end of which is adapted to seat against an abutment 39 in the form of a nut threaded upon the exterior of the oscillating shaft. By adjustment of the nut 39 upon the shaft, the effective tension ofthe spring may be regulated to give the most efficient results. The stem 34 is threaded at its outer extremity, and carries a knurled thumb nut 40 which abuts against the end face of the shaft. I

The rear portion of the oscillating shaft 1s non-circular in cross section, as clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, corresponding to the cross sectional shape of its forward end upon which the arm 20 is mounted. A crank arm 41 is fixed at this point by passing the rear end of the oscillating shaft through a correspondingly shaped aperture in the crank arm, the arm being gripped between the abutment 39 and a nut 43. The body of the crank Fig. 4 of the drawings, in order 'to freely SWL g f om side to e without striking he casing of the motor 4, and is positioned angularly with respect to the shaft upon which it is mounted so as to line in substantially the same plane as the arm 20 mounted upon the front end of the shaft. This, for the purpose of bringing the cleaning devices supported at the front face of the wind shield .into alignment with the manual operating means, in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 1 so as to obstruct the drivers View through the wind shield to a minimum.

In order to conveniently attach the casing 1, and the parts carried thereby, in operative position, a pair of bolts 44, 44 are passed through the bottom of the casing, and in turn through siutably positioned apertures in the frame of the wind shield, and locked in place by the respective nuts 46, 46. In order to accommodate the shaft 19, openings 47 are provided in the frame 45, and similar openings 47 are likewise provided for the passage of the oscillating shaft 19. These parts are clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

In use, the entire casing, together with the motor, its gearing and the several parts associated with the oscillating shafts, are bodily mounted as a unit upon the frame of the wind shield, in the manner previously described, and as illustrated in the drawings, the forward end of the oscillating shafts being projected through openings in the frame of the wind shield so as to extend slightly therebeyond, and the cleaning devices attached to the projecting ends of the shafts so as to permit the squeegee or cleaning strip 26 to be pressed into intimate contact with its front face by the spring 27.

\Vhen mounted in this manner. and with thestem 34 forced inwardly with its fiattcned end or key portion 35 in engagement with the'pinions 18 and 18. actuation of the motor 4 will cause the oscillating movement imparted to the pinions by means of the gearing interposed between them and the motoryto transmit motion to the shafts 19 and 19'. Oscillation of the shafts, in turn, cause the wiping elements 26 to be moved throughout a predetermined extent of the panel 28 of the wind shield around the shafts Due to the hinged connection beconnection of the holding strip 25 with the arm 22 and the resilient action of the spring 27, the squeegee or cleaning strip is caused to adjust itself in a manner to exert a substantially uniform pressure upon the panel 28 throughout the entire extent of the cleaning element. Such uniform pressure will be exerted regardless of the exact positioning of theoscillating shafts. In other words, a uniformpressure will be exerted upon the panel regardless of whether the oscillating shafts are disposed normal to the panel or are positioned angularlyv thereto. Fhis is considered of great practical importance, since it is extremely difficult-to mount the cleaning element upon the frame of the wind free manipulation by hand, it is merely necessary to rotate the thumb nut 40 in the proper direction to force the stem 34 to wards the right, as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5. Such'movement of the stem 34 will withdraw the flattened extremity 35 serving as a locking key from the slot 31 within the bore of the pinion, thus releasing and permitting the pinion to rotate freely upon its shaft. \Vith the pinion released, the oscillating shaft may be readily actuated by means of the hand grip 43 and the crank arm 41 in an obvious fashion, independently of the driving gearing interposed between the motor 4 and the oscillating shaft.

In order to again connect the motor to the shaft, the thumb nut 40 is rotated in the opposite direction, so as to permit the spring 38 to force the terminal 35 of the stem 34 into operative engagement with the slot 31. During the inward travel of the stem under the influence of the spring, the inner end of the stem is caused to move over the cam surface 33 so as' to be positively forced radially outwards into its locking position, to facilitate this functioning, the cross section of the body of the stem 34 is' made of slightly less dimension than the diameter of the main portion of the bore 32.

From the above, it will be apparent that the pinions are locked to the oscillating shafts in -a manner assuring their being always positioned in the sm le angular relation with respect to the shafts when locked thereto. lhis, in turn, assures that the cleaning elements of the two shafts always assume the same angular position relative to each other when the pinions are in locked condition, regardless how frequently theoscillating shafts are released for manual actuation, or whether one, or both of the shafts are released.

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described as required by the patent statutes, it is obvious that many changes in details and in the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore not intended to limit the invention beyond that specifically pointed out and' defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wind shield cleaner comprising a casing, an oscillating shaft journalled in the casing, a motor carried by the casing,

gearing interposed between the motor and said shaft for oscillating the shaft including a pinion loosely journalled on theshaft,

the bore of the pinion being provided with a slot, a key for engaging the slot to lock the pinion against rotative movement upon the shaft, means for actuating the said key,

operatively conbore of the pinion being provided with a slot, said shaft being provided with'a longitudinal bore at one end thereof, a stem slida-bly mounted in the bore of the shaft, the inner end of the stem serving as a key for engagement with the pinion. and a cleaning element operatively connected to the opposite end of the shaft.

3. A wind shield cleaner comprising a engaging the slot in the pinion, means for resiliently urging the stenrlnto operatlve casing, a pair of spaced-apart-osc1llat1ng' casing, an oscillating shaft journalled in the casing, a motor carried by the casing, gearing interposed between the motor and said shaft for oscillating the shaft including a pinion loosely journalledon the shaft, the bore of the pinion being provided with a slot, said shaft being provided with a 1011- .gitudinal bore, the innner end of said longitudinal bore opening radially outwards adjacent the pinion, a stem mounted for sliding movement in the longitudinal bore, and having its inner end bent radially outwards and adapted to project within the slot of the pinion, resilient means for urging the stem into engagement with the pinion, means for manually oscillating the shaft, and a cleaning element fixed to the shaft for contacting the surface of the wind shield to be cleaned. i I

4. A wind shield cleaner comprising a casing, an oscillating shaft journalled in the casing, a motor carried by the casing, gearing interposed between the motor and said shaftfor oscillating. the shaft including a pinion loosely journalled on the shaft, the bore of the pinion being provided With a slot, said shaft bGlIlWDIOVIdGd with a longitudinal bore, an elon ated opening establishing communication through the body of the shaft with the said longitudinal bore at its inner end, the bore being directed radially outwards adjacent the pinion, a slidable stem mounted in the longitudinal bore, the inner end of the stem being offset whereby to be projected outwardly through. the elongated opening into engagement with the slot of the pinion when bodily moved inwardly of the shaft, an abutment carried by the stem, a second abutment/carried by the shaft, a compression spring interposed between said abutments for normally urging the stem inwardly, manual means for oscillating the shaft fixed adjacent one end thereof, and a cleaning element operatively anchored to its opposite end.

5. A wind shield cleaner comprising a shafts journalled in said casing, the opposite ends of each of said shafts pro ecting beyond the caslng, arms carrying cleaning elements anchored to one end of said shafts,

a motor carried by the casing, gearing interposed between the motor and each of said shafts for driving the same in synchronism, said gearing including a pinion loosely journalled for rotative movement upon each of said shafts, means associated with each of the shafts for selectively locking and unlocking the respective pinions to the shaft upon which they are mounted, said means being so arranged with respect to the shafts and pinions that the said arms carrying the cleaning elements will always assume the same angular position relative to each other when the pinions are in locked condition.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

BERNARD E. LITOT, 

